What a nice thing to say, MM. Very like you. :-)
A little update on Bill:
He and the 2000 other volunteers amassed in San Antonio to deal with Rita's aftermath spent another day hanging out at the hotel they'd been put up in, waiting for the ARC mucky-mucks to make decisions.
At about 10 this morning, a convoy of 250 trucks (Bill's driving one) filled with food, water, clothing, and medical supplies left San Antonio and is driving to Beaumont, TX, where Rita made landfall. They'll unload some provisions there, some volunteers will stay, and others, like Bill, will continue to the Mississippi coast-- very hard hit by Katrina and of yet has not received the degree of attention and help it needs.
Grainne, if you're reading this, I think you asked how Bill got involved as a Red Cross volunteer. He called our local chapter and volunteered to go through the necessary two-day training (basic psych and medical skills, plus CPR). After passing the training, he waited about a week and a half until deployment. It was a frustrating wait, but he's been told the reason is that scheduling thousands of volunteers from all over the country, most of whom will only serve 2-3 weeks at a time, is a hell of a task. |
